Parliamentary questions
Donald Cameron
1,854 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
25 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide details of any engagement that it has had with Bord na Gàidhlig about its Addressing Depopulation Action Plan.
Answer · Emma Roddick: Scottish Government is consulting Bòrd na Gidhlig in support of developing the Addressing Depopulation Action Plan, building on previous engagement to understand better the linkages between Gaelic language and culture, and population retention, undertaken dur…
25 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has plans to increase funding for, or the number of, lifeline air routes from the mainland to Scottish islands, and whether instances of disruption to ferry service are taken into consideration when making any such decisions.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: The Scottish Government has no plans to provide funding for additional air services from the mainland to Scottish islands. The only mechanism for the provision of subsidised air services is through the imposition of a Public Service Obligation (PSO). In line …
25 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage the expansion of so-called banking hubs into the Highlands and Islands region, following the opening of branches in Cambuslang, Carnoustie, and Troon, and the announcement that a further nine branches will open elsewhere in Scotland.
Answer · Neil Gray: Banking Hubs are a welcome industry initiative from UK Finance’s Cash Action Group. In October 2022 the Minister for Community Wealth and Public Finance visited the pilot Banking Hub in Cambuslang to see the positive impact it has had on the local area. The S…
25 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether Transport Scotland will consider allocating additional investment to prevent landslides on the A86 following the reported landslide at Roybridge.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop: Transport Scotland and their operating company, BEAR Scotland, have taken a number of actions following the recent A86 landslide at Roybridge and further measures are in hand. A series of landslips emanating from private land adjacent to the A86 trunk road …
25 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-19168 by Richard Lochhead on 29 June 2023, what it considers to be the necessary level of banking needs of rural areas, and whether it has conducted any data analysis on this issue.
Answer · Neil Gray: The Scottish Government understands the importance of bank branches to rural communities in Scotland and recognises that when a local branch closes it can be difficult for those living in rural and highland communities to access their next nearest branch. Th…
25 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many teachers left the profession, also shown as a percentage of total teachers, in each year since 2016, broken down by local authority area in the Highlands and Islands region.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government does not hold this information.
25 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) social and (b) affordable homes have been built in the Highlands and Islands region since 2022, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Paul McLennan: A table showing the number of social and affordable completions by local authority area can be accessed using the following link: https://www.gov.scot/publications/affordable-housing-supply-programme-completions-updates/ The homes provided through the Affo…
25 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-19168 by Richard Lochhead on 29 June 2023, whether it can confirm in detail what has been discussed at each of its meetings with the Financial Conduct Authority regarding the provision of banks in rural areas.
Answer · Neil Gray: Scottish Government officials meet bi-monthly with FCA officials to discuss a range of industry and regulatory issues. As part of these discussions the FCA have flagged the increased regulatory powers they will receive, through the Financial Services and Mark…
25 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how many of the 11,000 affordable homes that it has committed to build in remote, rural and island communities by 2032 have been built since the commitment was made.
Answer · Paul McLennan: The following table shows the number of affordable homes delivered in remote, rural and island communities in 2021-22 and 2022-23: Financial Year Remote Small Towns Accessible Rural Remote Rural Rural and Islands Housing Fund Total Homes 2021-22 15 1…
25 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to support local authorities in order to ensure that people living in rural communities have access to library services.
Answer · Christina McKelvie: The legal obligation to provide public library services within Scotland lies with the local authorities, who have a statutory duty to secure the provision of adequate library facilities for all people resident in their area, taking into account local needs. …
25 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide details of the engagement that it has had with local authorities about its Addressing Depopulation Action Plan.
Answer · Emma Roddick: Scottish Government engages with local authorities about depopulation across multiple fronts including: the SG/COSLA population roundtable; the Convention of the Highlands and Islands population working group; learning from Community Settlement Officers based…
24 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 impacts on how grant funding is allocated by funding bodies, and, if it does, whether it can provide details of this.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 (“the Act”) includes the duty to have regard to island communities. This means that a relevant authority as listed in the Schedule of the Act must consider island communities when carrying out its functions. There are 71 relev…
24 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether funding bodies take into account the specific challenges faced by (a) island and (b) rural communities when considering how they distribute grant funding, and whether it has plans to review this process.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon: The Scottish Government recognises the challenges faced by our rural and island communities and works closely with stakeholders and partners to ensure that those challenges are addressed. All relevant authorities listed in the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 ,…
24 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide details of the number of religious hate crimes recorded in Scotland since 2016, broken down by police division.
Answer · Siobhian Brown: The following table details the number of hate crimes that included a religion aggravator in Scotland, by police division. Table 1: Religious hate crimes by police division: 2016-17 to 2021-22 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 Argyll an…
24 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has assessed the efficacy of the Hate Crime Security Fund, and, if so, whether it can provide details.
Answer · Emma Roddick: Funded organisations reported that the grants enabled them to install measures that make their congregations feel safer, and to reduce hate crimes. The majority of projects focused on the installation of CCTV and alarm systems, which organisations felt provid…
24 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it received any Barnett consequential funding following the announcement of the UK Government in June 2023 that it would establish a £28 million fund to help protect faith communities from the threat of hate crime and terror attacks.
Answer · Emma Roddick: The £28 million fund has been launched for England and Wales only. The Scottish Government is not expecting any new Barnett consequential funding. We remain committed to preventing and tackling hate crime, including religiously motivated hate crime. The Scott…
24 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many organisations applied for support from the Hate Crime Security Fund in 2021-22, and how many were (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful.
Answer · Emma Roddick: The total number of applications was 46. The total number of successful applications was 42, meaning 4 were unsuccessful. Applications were assessed by Police Scotland against the fund criteria, including their vulnerability to hate crime.
24 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-13594 by Angus Robertson on 5 January 2023, whether it can confirm when its New Scots strategy 2018-2022 evaluation report will be published.
Answer · Emma Roddick: The New Scots Refugee Integration Delivery Project includes a workstream on research and evaluation. This entails working with New Scots partners and external evaluators to carry out project monitoring, research work and an evaluation of the New Scots Strateg…
24 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it ended the Hate Crime Security Fund after one year, and whether it has plans to re-establish the fund.
Answer · Emma Roddick: The Hate Crime Security Fund was established as a one-off fund in response to the March 2019 Christchurch terror attacks. This met a government commitment to provide a £500,000 fund for security measures for Places of Worship in Scotland, announced on 27 Janu…
24 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated to projects that promote freedom of religion and belief, in each year since 2007.
Answer · Emma Roddick: Scottish Government does not currently directly fund projects which specifically promote freedom of religion or belief. Scottish Government funding of faith and belief organisations is now, and has for many years been focused on supporting interfaith engageme…
24 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-10229 by Angus Robertson on 6 September 2022, whether it can provide an update on when it will publish its updated New Scots strategy.
Answer · Emma Roddick: The New Scots refugee integration strategy has been developed and is led in partnership by the Scottish Government, COSLA and Scottish Refugee Council. The current strategy was published in 2018. All partners have committed to refreshing the strategy and to …
24 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what actions it is taking to protect people of religion and faith from persecution.
Answer · Emma Roddick: The Scottish Government condemns all incidents of religious persecution and the targeting of innocent people based on their beliefs. The Scottish Government’s new Hate Crime Strategy was published on 24 March 2023. The strategy sets out a vision for a Sco…
24 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide details of the organisations that received funding from the Hate Crime Security Fund in 2021-22, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Emma Roddick: The location of funded organisations broken down by local authority area was as follows: 1 Aberdeen1 East Ayrshire1 East Dunbarton4 East Renfrewshire5 Edinburgh1 Falkirk2 Fife11 Glasgow1 Highland1 Inverclyde1 Midlothian1 North Ayrshire4 North Lanarkshire1 Sou…
21 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-12786 by Neil Gray on 12 December 2022, whether it will provide an update on the number of sites that are managed by Historic Environment Scotland that were (a) open and (b) closed in 2022-23.
Answer · Christina McKelvie: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-12786 given previously. I have accordingly asked Historic Environment Scotland to respond directly to the member with a reply to his question in writing.
19 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to expand the number of dental practices that are eligible to apply for the Recruitment and Retention Allowance in rural areas.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The recruitment and retention allowance is payable to individual General Dental Practitioners, and pays £25,000 to GDPs joining the dental list for the first time or returning after a period of five years and practising in an eligible area. The Scottish Gove…
19 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to increase the number of reports that it makes to the Scottish Parliament in respect of its "keeping pace" power under the UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021.
Answer · Angus Robertson: The UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021 sets out the requirement for annual reports of the Scottish Ministers use, planned use and considered use of the Section 1(1) power of the Act. The Scottish Government has no plans to …
19 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide an estimate of how many times its "keeping pace" power, under the UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021, will be used in (a) 2023 and (b) 2024.
Answer · Angus Robertson: As set out in the Continuity Act policy statement agreed with Parliament in June 2022, the Scottish Government will seek to align with the EU where appropriate and in a manner that contributes towards maintaining and advancing standards across a range of poli…
19 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the commitment by the former Minister for Public Health, Women’s Health and Sport on 17 November 2022 to look into including Kintyre on the list of geographical areas that are eligible to apply for the Recruitment and Retention Allowance, what progress has been made towards …
Answer · Jenni Minto: The entire NHS Highland Health Board area, including Kintyre, qualifies for the Recruitment and Retention Allowance.
19 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in light of reports that there are now no dental practices registering patients in Dunoon, and that people may need to travel to Glasgow to see an NHS dentist.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government has put in place a range of incentives in the Highland area to support NHS dental provision. Specifically:Scottish Dental Access Initiative. These grants are available to applicants wishing to open a new or expand existing practice pro…
18 Jul 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what initial expectation there was to use administrative data sources in the compilation of the Scottish Census 2022 results, and what the actual use of administrative data sources was.
Answer · Angus Robertson: The original design for Scotland’s Census 2022 included the use of administrative data from across the Scottish public sector to quality assure the outputs produced from the census data. Following the collect phase, and working closely with a group of intern…